Shoe-fastening.



PATENTED DEC. 12, 1905,

s. w. DUKE. SHOE FASTENING.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 6, 1905 Witnesses UNITED STATES PATENT orrron.

I .SUSIE W. DUKE, or ARooL1i, NoRrH CAROLINA.

SHOE-FASTENING.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec.- 12, 1905.

To all whont. it may concern:

Be it known that I, SUSIE W. DUKE, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Arcola, in the county of Warren and State of North Carolina, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Shoe Fastenings, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in shoe-fastenings andi t consists, essentially, of a series of studs located upon the tongue and adapted to pass through corresponding eyes in the upper of the shoe and be secured by hinged clasps.

It has for its object to produce a device of this character which can be easily and quickly operated and which is at the samejtime simple and durable in construction.

For a full description of the invention and the merits thereof and also to acquire aknowledge of the details of construction of the means for effecting theresult reference is to be had to the following description and accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a perspective view of a shoe having my invention attached thereto. Fig. 2 is a detail horizontal sectional view throu h the clamp. Fig. 3 is a detail view of the 0 amp.

Corresponding and like parts are referred to in the following description and indicated in all the views of the drawings by the same reference characters.

The numerals 1 and 1 indicate the uppers of the shoe, the upper 1 being provided with a series of eyelets 2. The tongue 3 is sewed or otherwise fastened along one of its edges to the upper 1 and is provided along its other edge with a series of studs 4. These studs 4 may be of any desired number and may be made of any suitable material, such as hard rubber. They comprise, essentially, a shank having a ball or head 6 at each end, one of the balls being pivotally mounted in a socket 5, attached to the tongue 3, so as to obtain great freedom of movement. The other head 6 of each stud 4 is adapted to pass through one of the eyelets 2 in the upper 1 of the shoe in order to close same. Buckles or clasps 7, hinged at an intermediate point 8, are fastened to the upper 1 and have clasps 9, which fit over the protruding heads 6 of the studs 4 and hold the shoe securely closed. Since the buckles 7 and tongue 3 lie against opposite faces of the upper 1, at the margin thereof, it

is obvious that the same fastening means may 'be employed to secure both the tongue and the clasps to the upper. For instance, the clenching-prongs 10, as shown in Fig. 2, may be thus employed. The clasps 9 may be formed in any suitable manner or may consist of the ordinary spring-socket.

In operation the heads 6 of the studs 4 are passed through the corresponding eyelets 2 in the upper 1, and the hinged buckles 7 are then pushed downward until the clasps 9 engage the heads 6 .of the studs to lock the shoe in a closed position.

From the foregoing description it will be readily understood that I have invented a shoe-fastening which will effectively hold the shoe in a closed position and which is practical in construction, since it comprises few and durable parts.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new, and desired to be secured by Letters Patent, is

1. In a shoe-fastener, the combination of the uppers and the tongue provided with a series of sockets, studs comprising shanks having balls at each end thereof, the balls at one end fitting into the sockets in the tongue, while those at the other end pass through openings in one upper, and clas s designed to fit over the last-mentioned ba s of the stud and secured to the other upper.

2. In a shoe-fastener, the combination of a tongue secured to the upper along one of its sides and provided with a series of studs along its opposite side, a series of corresponding eyelets in the upper opposite that to which the tongue is secured, and buckles attached to the same upper as the tongue and having hinged joints, said buckles being provided with clasps to engage the heads of the beforementioned studs.

3. In a shoe-fastener, the combination of a tongue secured to the upper along one of its sides and provided with a series of studs along its opposite side, a series of corresponding eyelets in the upper opposite that to which the tongue is secured, and buckles attached to the same upper as the tongue, and provided with clasps to engage the heads of the before-mentioned studs.

4. In a shoe-fastening, the combination of a socket secured to the tongue of the shoe, a clasp provided with means for securing it to one of the uppers and also for securing said In testimony whereof I afiiX my signature upper to the tongue, and a stud provided in presence of two Witnesses. With two heads and an intermediate shank,

one of said heads fitting Within said socket SUSIE DUKE and the other protruding through the other Witnesses: upper and designed to be received in said JOHN H. KERN,

clasp. E. 0. PRICE. 

